This is a follow-up study of 44 patients who were admitted to the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh after frequent deliberate self-harm (defined as three or more episodes of deliberate self-harm within one week) at least once between 1982 and 1987. Forty-two patients (95%) were traced after a minimum of three years (range 3yr 1mo 8yr 9mo). Thirty eight patients were known to have repeated self-harm an average of 13 times during the follow-up. Only two patients had died, one of these by probable suicide. The average cost solely attributable to the in-patient accommodation and psychiatric assessment of this group during follow-up was £34,036.60 (1986–87 prices)
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